Correct Addresses Are Important

September 23, 1992

Hartford's registrars of voters have been cast unfairly as trying to take away arbitrarily the rights of some registered voters. The voters' signatures on petitions were disallowed because they had moved without notifying the election officials.

On two recent petitions, one for a primary candidate and another seeking to put charter revision on the ballot, hundreds of signatures were declared invalid because the addresses next to them were not on the city's master list.

The address requirement is an attempt to certify the legitimacy of the signatures. Without an address that matches the one on the voting list, the registrars have no way to know if the signatures are valid beyond an educated guess or investigation. Petitions may have several names that are the same.

Critics of the petition-checking procedure say it discriminates against many of Hartford's Hispanics and blacks who move frequently, often within the city -- more often than periodic canvasses can track. But it is the high mobility of these residents that make a residence check important. Unscrupulous individuals could take advantage of the system by using the names of people they know have left the city.

Voters who have moved within Hartford without notifying the registrars may still vote on Election Day if they offer satisfactory evidence at their polling places that they have moved.

People circulating petitions can ask voters if they have moved and be prepared to help them notify the registrars of new addresses so their signatures will be valid. The process is as easy as calling in a change.

The system should work to enfranchise every voter without discrimination. Checking addresses helps to ensure the system's integrity